


Tags and All

by singerofsimplesongs



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 9x01 coda, Fluff, Kinda, M/M, Season 9 Fic, i'm mourning the trench coat, incorporates spoilers for 9x03 and 9x06, they act about as married as they did in 9x01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-15
Updated: 2013-10-15
Packaged: 2017-12-29 11:25:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1004866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singerofsimplesongs/pseuds/singerofsimplesongs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean may or may not have made a stop at Burlington Coat Factory. But if he did, it's only because Cas is going to need a warm winter coat. He definitely wasn't looking for a replacement for Cas' old trench coat. No way. It's just a coincidence the one that has somehow now ended up in his closet looks almost exactly the same. </p><p>  <i>(aka apparently Cas originally kept the trench coat in the early 9x01 scripts, but it didn't make the final cut and I'm in denial about it being gone for good)</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Tags and All

The third time Castiel steps foot into the bunker, he still can’t really look at Dean. Part of him gets it. He understands why Dean made him leave the last time. He understands that it was better for him because they couldn’t properly ward the bunker. He understands that Sam needed to get better. And Dean really did look wrecked all those weeks ago. But he doesn’t have to be happy about it. He was homeless and his best friend kicked him out. Understanding doesn’t fully replace hurt feelings. 

But he learned a lot about humanity, so that was nice. Or at least as nice as it could be. 

Sam looks really apologetic and he keeps glaring at Dean. He’s more mad about the whole Ezekiel thing, and Cas really doesn’t blame him. Dean is still Cas’ best friend, but even he can see that the Righteous Man screwed up this time. 

The bunker is pretty much silent for quite a few days. Cas and Sam talk sometimes, but conversation shrivels up once Dean enters the room. It’s not like they are doing it on purpose, but they really don’t have much to say as a group. 

But the cold shoulder Cas is sporting melts pretty quickly the day he walks by Dean’s room and catches sight of something long and tan in Dean’s closet. And really, he doesn’t mean to pry, but it seems Dean has accidentally left his closet door open. It’s not Cas’ fault if he wanders in there and checks it out. 

It’s a trench coat. The tags are still on and everything. And it looks almost identical to the one he left in a washing machine drum in Colorado. The buttons are a slightly different color and the neck is a little bit wider, but other than that Cas can’t really notice a difference. It’s not for Dean, since it looks like it runs a size or two smaller than the rest of the jackets in his closet and therefore, additionally, it is _definitely_ not for Sam. 

It’s funny how fabric can change human emotions so quickly. To be honest, Cas is still having a hard time getting used to how often his emotions change and grow. He can’t really name the emotion he feels now, but it’s warm and pleasant. He’s still mad at Dean, but this feeling is making him forget that for a while. 

“I might have stopped at a Burlington on the way home from a hunt,” a sad voice says from the doorway. “I noticed that you didn’t have yours anymore and winters can be, um, sorta harsh in Kansas. I wanted to, uh, make sure you had a decent coat. Just, you know, in case.”

“Just in case what Dean?” Cas says slowly. 

Silence stretches between them.

“In case you forgave me enough to come back,” Dean finally admits. 

Cas opens his mouth to say something, but doesn’t really know what. Instead he closes it and turns back around to pull the coat off the hanger. He shrugs the coat on, tags and all, and smiles. 

“It fits. Thank you,” he says softly. “I’ve known I needed a new one for quite some time now. Sweatshirts don’t really do much for you in Kansas winters.”

Dean looks at Cas, his eyebrows drawn in confusion. 

“You did what you had to do for Sam. I was mad at you, but that certainly doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to come back if you asked. You will always be forgiven, Dean. Just like I will, eventually, always return to you.”

Understanding dawns on Dean’s face beautifully, just as it did in Purgatory. 

“You knew you were going to come back?” Dean asks. 

Cas can feel the corner of his mouth pull upward. 

“I always do, don’t I?”

Dean laughs then and his small smile matches Cas’.

“Yeah, I guess you do.”

The silence for a few moments is much more pleasant this time. 

“I am sorry, Cas. I shouldn’t have let you walk out that door. You always should have just been here.”

“I’m here now,” Cas says. “And I will stay as long as you’ll have me.”

“Okay,” Dean smiles. “You might be here a while then.” 

And Castiel knows Dean well enough to know that’s his way of asking Cas to stay. Later, he cuts the tags of the new trench coat and hangs it in the hall closet.


End file.
